Your search resulted in 270 documents. Displaying 25 entries per page.
CreoSub – New protection technology to substitute creosote in railway sleepers, timber bridges, and utility poles
2014 - IRG/WP 14-30644
Creosote oil is one of the oldest industrially used wood preservatives. Due to its toxic profile, the European Commission has restricted the use of creosote specific applications, but it is highly controversial within the European Commission. Its approval for use after 2018 is very questionable and may depend on derived research results until then, i.e., the viability of alternatives developed to ...
U Hundhausen, K-C Mahnert, A Gellerich, H Militz
Potential for migration of boron from fused boron rods used as internal remedial treatments of utility poles
2014 - IRG/WP 14-50301
The distribution of boron in Douglas-fir utility poles and in the surrounding soil was assessed over a 54 month period following application of fused boron rods. Boron levels in the wood never reached the levels that might be predicted if diffusion were to produce a uniform chemical distribution, nor did levels in the soil suggest that boron was becoming more concentrated. The results suggest th...
M Konkler, C Freitag, C S Love, J J Morrell, J Renfroe
Migration of copper from copper naphthenate treated Douglas-fir poles during storage
2014 - IRG/WP 14-50302
Preservative migration from treated wood products has raised concerns among regulators, especially when the biocides move into surface waters. In most cases, chemical levels are well below the acceptable minimum level, but can become a concern if large quantities of treated wood are stored in one location. One such case would be a location where utility poles are stored for use in emergency repai...
C S Love, C M Freitag, J J Morrell
Performance of copper treated poles and posts after three to fifteen years of exposure
2016 - IRG/WP 16-20595
Copper based wood preservatives are one of the most important wood preservatives for heavy-duty applications. Wood treated with copper-based preservatives performs excellent if applied according to preservative specifications. If used improperly premature failures might appear. In order to elucidate properties of copper treated wood in use, utility poles and posts treated with copper-based preserv...
M Humar, N Thaler
Encapsulation of poles to prevent moisture uptake – a laboratory test
2016 - IRG/WP 16-40753
Premature failure of utility poles due to decay in soil contact is the main reason for early removal of utility poles, a measure that implies extra costs for utilities. Remedial treatments and barriers are common methods to prolong the service life of utility poles. The first part of this paper gives an overview of mode of action and commercial application of barrier systems as described in the li...
K-C Mahnert, U Hundhausen
A Case Study of Long-term CCA Preservative Leaching from Treated Hardwood Poles in a Humid Tropical Condition
2016 - IRG/WP 16-50324
Chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated Malaysian hardwoods have long been used as utility poles, posts, construction piles and motorway fencing in soil contact exposed to the threats of decay fungi and termites. Despite global concerns citing predominantly temperate conditions of long-term leaching of CCA toxic heavy metals from wood into surrounding soils and groundwater since the 1990’s, the ...
A H H Wong, W S M Chin
Five-year evaluation of a field trial of Eucalyptus grandis poles treated with zinc and boron
2017 - IRG/WP 17-30721
Round Eucalyptus wood treatment in sequential stages with inorganic borates and metal salts (zinc sulfate and boric acid+borax) was studied; the aims were to form an insoluble precipitate of zinc borate inside wood and to reduce treatment costs by performing the first treatment by simple ascent and diffusion of the preservative, at the same time as it was sought to impregnate the heartwood. The se...
C Ibáñez, A Camargo, C Mantero, M Rabinovich
Degradation of Eucalyptus transmission poles varies across regions in Zambia
2018 - IRG/WP 18-30727
Evidence from literature shows that Eucalyptus poles treated with creosote last over 30 years before replacement. However, in Zambia, the life span of such poles has reduced to 5-10 years. The aim of this study was to investigate factors associated with degradation of treated Eucalyptus poles and how these varied across regions in the country. A total of 1200 poles were assessed in three differen...
P Ng’andwe, D Chungu, E Ncube
Environmental protection and long term in-service sustainability of preserved wooden poles is secured by non-toxic barrier protection system – History and case studies in South Africa
2018 - IRG/WP 18-50340
Non-toxic flexible sheeting systems have been developed to encapsulate the ground contact regions of preserved wooden poles and prevent their premature failure in South Africa since 1992 but the technology also has a long history of resistance by individuals with vested interests in the built-in redundancies of such poles. The concept has, however, been simultaneously validated by many independent...
A A W Baecker
Protecting Sustainable Wood Infrastructure ̶ Improving the Performance of Poles, Piles, Ties & Timbers with Dual Treatments
2019 - IRG/WP 19-30735
Wood is by far the best structural material in terms of environmental impact, as shown by a number of LCA studies. This environmental impact superiority can be improved if the longevity of the commodity is extended. The main durability concern in large cross-section treated materials is the susceptibility of the heartwood to decay, as it is not typically treatable using traditional methods. This ...
J Lloyd, A Taylor, C Brischke, N Irby, M Manning
Boron dual-treatments for Douglas-fir utility poles: Tracking boron migration over time
2019 - IRG/WP 19-30739
The potential for using boron pressure-treatment prior to over-treatment with conventional, heavy-duty wood preservatives to limit internal decay in-service was investigated in two field tests on Douglas-fir utility poles. Pole sections were pressure-treated with disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT) and then over-treated with either pentachlorophenol or copper naphthenate in oil. Alternatively, ...
J Cappellazzi, M J Konkler, J J Morrell
Protection of Venetian pilings from marine borers
2022 - IRG/WP 22-10995
This keynote paper describes piling typology, i.e. Aids to navigation, Mooring and berthing and Pileworks. Furthermore, it describes damages to pilings and public tests on alternative materials and protection.
Final remarks: Today, all the pole types admitted by the Memorandum of Understanding can be seen in the lagoon. Plastic poles are common for the mooring of small boats and as stilts in some...
D Tagliapietra
Chemical Analysis of Southern Pine Pole Stubs Sixty Months Following Treatment with a Methylisothiocyanate-Based Solid Fumigant Stick
2019 - IRG/WP 19-30740
Methylisothiocyanate-based fumigants have been commercially used in the United States for over 35 years to control internal decay in utility poles and other wooden structures with little technological advancement. The most recently commercialized methylisothiocyanate-based fumigant is chemically known as dazomet. Dazomet is a free-flowing powder or granule that decomposes in the presence of mois...
D J Herdman, T Pope, R R Browning
An Update on the Status of Industrial Heavy-Duty Preservatives in Europe
2022 - IRG/WP 22-30762
Creosote has been used for over 150 years for preservation of heavy duty industrial timbers such as railway sleepers, utility poles, and agricultural posts. The regulatory regimes in place today across Europe (eg EU & GB Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR)) require a detailed assessment of the environmental and human health properties of wood preservatives at both the active substance and product l...
S Uphill, H Griffiths, M Giannuzzi, A Hughes
Glued laminated poles - Progress report after 43 years of testing
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20692
In 1979, a number of glued laminated poles treated with CCA and creosote were placed in a greenhouse in Uppsala, in the Simlångsdalen test field in south-western Sweden and in a power lane in Vuollerim in northern Sweden, in order to study their resistance against biological degradation. The test poles were treated in a two-step process. All laminations of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) were first...
J Jermer, M Westin, N Terziev
Through-boring to improve the performance of low durability Eucalyptus species for utility poles: 10-year field test results of pole stubs exposed in Southeast Queensland
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40972
An impending shortage of naturally durable hardwood electricity pole timbers in Australia has encouraged investigation of alternatives containing less durable, untreatable heartwood. Through-boring or drilling holes perpendicular to the long axis before treatment, has been used successfully on refractory softwood poles in North America and might have application in Australia. The use of through-bo...
J Norton, L P Francis, J J Morrell
Multi-scale Experimental Study on Self-sustained Smouldering of CCA-treated Timber Poles
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40988
While it is accepted that appropriate treatment with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) will extend the design life of wood markedly, there are concerns regarding the effect of treatment on fire performance. Smouldering combustion in CCA-treated timber infrastructure can self-sustain, destroying the timber elements, as the chromium and copper present in the CCA can act as catalysts of the smouldering...
W Wu, L Yerman, J J Morrell, F Wiesner
Modelling the service life of wood in ground contact – Verification of remotely sensed soil data from the reanalysis dataset ERA5-Land using in-situ measurements at a test site of utility poles in Eastern Norway
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41003
This study compared soil moisture and temperature estimates from the 5th European reanalysis (ERA5-Land) dataset with in-situ measurements to assess the accuracy and applicability of ERA5-Land data for modelling the service life of wood in ground contact. The ERA5-Land soil temperature estimates showed a moderate correlation with the in-situ temperature measurements (Spearman’s ρ of 0.73) and a...
U Hundhausen, P B van Niekerk, B Marais
Assessment of historical pilings from Lisbon
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41004
The renovation and rebuilding of areas in Lisbon has led to work on buildings constructed in the Pombaline downtown district. These buildings were constructed on wooden pilings, as a means of stabilising unstable soils and transfer the loads from buildings to soils with adequate bearing capacity. These methods also increased the resilience of the reconstruction works to future possible earthquakes...
D Jones, S Duarte, J A J Huber, L Nunes
The durability and mechanical properties of 40 years old Black locust poles
2024 - IRG/WP 24-11042
This study investigates the durability and mechanical properties of 40-year-old black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) poles harvested from a vineyard in Slovenia. Wood from these poles was compared to recently harvested black locust wood to determine possible reuse options. Visual inspection, hyperspectral imaging, and laboratory tests were conducted to assess decay, density, mechanical properties, ...
M Humar, J Malik, J Levanic, D Krzisnik, E Kerzic, B Lesar